Paleokits and other healthy snack ideas

A Paleokit is a delicious, nutritious snack or meal replacement that saves time in healthy meal prepartion and benefits a mentorship program for inner-city youth.

A reader recently wrote: “Just love junk food. Any tips on how I can stay on track, avoid cravings, lose about 5 to 10 pounds?”

To lose or maintain weight, snacks are essential, but they have to be healthy snacks, such as a handful of almonds (about 100 calories) or an apple smeared with organic peanut butter (about 175 calories). The snacks are part of an effective way to keep weight off or maintain it by eating six small meals a day rather than three big ones. By keeping each of those meals under 600 calories — preferably under 400 calories — you will metabolize your food better.

Unless you’re an athlete, more than 600 calories in one meal is going to turn to fat. But 300 to 600 per meal is going to keep your metabolism stoked rather than slowed down by too many calories.

This medium Paleokit contains only 318 calories, yet is packed with nutrients from beef jerky made with free-range, hormone-free flank steak, a mix of healthy nuts and antioxidan-rich dried fruit.

One of the best snacks I’ve found is produced by Steve Liberati, owner of Paleokits (http://www.paleokits.org) and CrossFit Tribe (http://www.crossfittribe.blogspot.com) in Pennsauken. Paleokits are a mix of beef jerky from free-range and hormone-free flank steak (the leanest cut of beef), macadamias, pecans and almonds rich in essential Omega3 fatty acids, and antioxidant-rich dried cranberries and strawberries. They are 227 to 464 calories, depending on size. Five packs (about a week’s worth) cost $20 to $35.

Next to organic peanut butter (organic peanut butter, good; any other, bad), Paleokits are my favorite snack. I love Paleokits because: 1. Despite having dried fruit in them, the balance with lean protein and fatty acids does not impact my diabetes by causing my blood sugar to spike; 2. They really give you an all-natural energy boost, which makes them great to eat before a workout; 3. They save time in meal preparation; 4. Sweet and spicey, they are unbelievably delicious given how healthy they are; 5. All proceeds go to a wonderful charity: Steve’s Club (http://stevesclub.typepad.com/), a mentorship program Liberati created to help kids on the tough streets of Camden, recently voted the most crime-plagued city in the country.

I’ll write more about Steve’s Club in another post, as well as CrossFit Tribe. In the meantime, check out Paleokits. And for other healthy snack ideas, check out the recipe sections of The Zone Diet (http://www.zonediet.com) and The Paleo Diet (http://paleofood.com/).

What also will help to curb snack cravings are daily doses of liquid vitamin D and Omega 3-rich fish oil. For recommended amounts, check with a nutritionist or holistic doctor. For more information, visit The Zone Diet or http://www.carlsonlabs.com, home of one of the best manufacturers of both liquid vitamin D and fish oil. It’s best to take both in liquid form because your body will absorb the nutrients better.

What also will help to lose and maintain weight will be to build more muscle. Like six small daily meals, muscle is a natural metabolizer. The more muscle you have, the more calories your body will burn. Two highly recommended workouts are CrossFit (www.crossfit.com) and Fight4Life, also a sports-focused total fitness program different from CrossFit only in that it relies on the three-minute intervals of a boxing gym. For more about Fight4Life, check the July 27 to 29 archive of “Fighting for Life.”

Lastly, fitness is a matter of time management. I love Paleokits because they save a couple of hours every week in meal preparation. If your time is valuable to you, then Paleokits will be too. Plus, you will be helping to keep a kid in Camden off the streets.

Comments

About Bob Makin

Bob Makin is business coordinator, religion coordinator and senior reporter for the Home News Tribune, Courier News and MyCentralJersey.com. He has been with Gannett 16 years and a journalist for 30. He also is a National Academy of Sports Medicine-certified fitness coach specializing in sports-specific training and methods to fight diabetes and heal from Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, two illnesses Makin has been able to control through exercise and nutrition. A former competitive boxer and wrestler, Makin relies heavily on mixed martial arts as a form of exercise.

Hi there, when browsing at your site i see some kind of weird codes all over the page, in case it’s important I just thought I’d let you know it says this with all sorts of other stuff after it: “Warning: Cannot modify header information – headers already sent in wp-settings.php line 12″

Hi , when browsing at your site i see some kind of weird codes all over the page, in case it’s important I just thought I’d let you know it says this with all sorts of other stuff after it: “Warning: Cannot modify header information – headers already sent in wp-settings.php line 12″

Thank you for all of your work on this web site. Debby takes pleasure in participating in investigations and it’s really easy to understand why. We all notice all of the lively manner you offer insightful items by means of your web blog and as well as cause response from visitors on this subject matter while our own princess is actually starting to learn a great deal. Take pleasure in the rest of the new year. You are performing a fantastic job.

Hey, your blog is extremely interesting.. Plus it was something I can definitely relate to Ill constantly stop by for your blog and so i we imagine you continue making fun and interesting posts like this one…

This is fantastic and just what I need help with! The big day is 9/18/10 at a ranch in colorado. Already have BM dresse that are gray with a hint of purple and am having trouble going from there. I love the soft, subtle, muted colors, but feel like I need a punch of something to spice things up a bit. Please help!

I do like the manner in which you have framed this concern and it really does present me personally some fodder for thought. However, through what I have seen, I basically wish when the actual reviews pile on that individuals continue to be on point and not embark upon a tirade regarding some other news du jour. Anyway, thank you for this fantastic point and while I do not necessarily go along with the idea in totality, I regard the perspective.

I do accept as true with all the ideas you’ve presented in your post. They are very convincing and can certainly work. Nonetheless, the posts are too quick for novices. Could you please extend them a bit from next time? Thank you for the post.

Hi there, You have done an excellent job. I will certainly digg it and personally suggest to my friends.
I am confident they’ll be benefited from this site.

About this Blog

No other exercise works on strength, power, speed, stamina, endurance, agility, balance, flexibility, mind and spirit all at the same time like mixed martial arts. Mixed martial arts also is the country’s fastest-growing sport and boasts the most pay-per-view sales.

About the Author

Bob MakinBob Makin is business coordinator, religion coordinator and senior reporter for the Home News Tribune, Courier News and MyCentralJersey.com. He has been with Gannett 16 years and a journalist for 30. He also is a National Academy of Sports Medicine-certified fitness coach specializing in sports-specific training and methods to fight diabetes and heal from Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, two illnesses Makin has been able to control through exercise and nutrition. A former competitive boxer and wrestler, Makin relies heavily on mixed martial arts as a form of exercise.E-mail Bob

Larry VollmerLarry Vollmer Jr. is a Web programmer for LoHud.com, the Web site of The Journal News. He spends his days staring at thousands of lines of code and his nights throwing highkicks and hitting the mat with submission grappling specialists. After work and training, Larry gets the latest news on the world of mixed martial arts from the fighters themselves while watching and rewatching matches on his DVR.E-mail Larry